Costa Rica: Universidad Veritas

San Jose, the sprawling capital of Costa Rica, offers a wide variety of activities. Emerge yourself in the local culture by spending a day exploring one of the numerous museums or markets found downtown. Shopping malls, restaurants, public parks, casinos, and night clubs also provide in-city entertainment.

Outside of the city, discover your adventurous side. Use Costa Rica’s expansive, accessible bus system to explore the country's vast forests and both coasts. National parks offer access to hiking trails, waterfalls, volcanoes, and untouched beaches. Activities like snorkeling, white water rafting, and zip lining can be found throughout the country.


Dates & Deadlines

Term: Summer 2024
App Deadline: Friday, March 1, 2024
Program Dates: May 27 to June 28, 2024 or July 8 to August 9, 2024*
*summer session can vary depending on taking Intensive Spanish courses

Term: Fall 2024
App Deadline: Sunday, March 17, 2024
Program Dates: September 2, 2024 to December 20, 2024
(can also start on September 30, see Study Abroad Advisor for details)

‌Apply Now

Interested in studying abroad in the spring of 2025 or later? Please fill out the waitlist form below and the study abroad center will notify you when applications for future terms open:

Study Abroad Waitlist

Location

The University of Veritas is located in the Zapote district of Costa Rica’s capital city, San Jose. Home to just over 330,000 people San Jose is the largest city in Costa Rica. Over a million additional people commute to the city daily.

San Jose offers a wide variety of entertainment and cuisine. The down town is home to different markets, museums, bakeries, plazas, and shops. The neighborhoods surrounding the school are eclectic and colorful.   

Downtown San Jose is a 30-minute walk or 10-minute bus ride away from the school. Bus travel from San Jose is fairly easy. The Pacific coast can be reached in as few as 2 hours and the Atlantic in 5.

The spring semester falls during San Jose’s dry season when the average temperature stays around 85 degrees with virtually no humidity.

Veritas was one of the first private colleges founded in Costa Rica. Local students study art, design, and architecture. The university is fairly small, hosting approximately 1,800 Costa Rican students and 320 international students. 

At Veritas, energetic and passionate staff members offer extracurricular activities like cooking and dance lessons, conversation club, yoga classes, and events such as talent shows, welcome parties, and group outings.

Veritas offers a shuttle system to and from the university for students with evening classes and activities, and there is also a line of taxis on the corner of the university always ready for students.

Courses: Veritas offers a unique and customized academic program. While most students interested are in improving their Spanish language skills, Veritas also offers many English taught courses that students can take in a variety of fields. Students may take intensive language courses with little to no Spanish proficiency.

Courses are divided into six areas:

  • Intensive Language Courses range from basic to advanced. Each course transfers back as 5 credit hours.
  • Spanish electives require an advanced level of proficiency. Classes focus on literature and linguistics. Each course transfers back as 3 credit hours.
  • Integrated Studies in Spanish with Costa Rican students in the Art, Design, and Architecture Departments are available to students with an advanced level of Spanish. Credit amounts, ranging from 2-4 hours, vary depending on the class.
  • English Taught Courses are offered in art, business, economic, communication, science, history, politics, theology, and health. 
  • Short Term Programs in different fields, such as health or law enforcement.
  • Internship Opportunities on an individual basis

Students are placed into Spanish courses based on a written placement test and Skype interview with a Veritas faculty member. Students taking intensive Spanish take one course per month, meeting five days per week from 8 am to 12 pm. After each month and passing the class, students are able to progress to the next level of Spanish.

English-taught courses meet for 3 months, generally twice per week, and usually include field trips related to the course content. English-taught electives are held in the afternoon and early evening hours.

For course offerings of electives taught in English or Spanish, please see here.

For course offerings of the month-long intensive Spanish, please see here.

Academic Calendar: Veritas offers a Fall term from October to December. For students who want to study Spanish as well or solely study Spanish, they can go even early in August or September and stay through December. For the Spring Semester, they offer two terms - one from January to March and one from April to June. Students can do one or the other or both. They also offer a variety of summer options. It is best to view their calendar to understand the structure of the classes. To view the academic calendar, please see the Veritas' homepage or in PDF form here.

Credits:
Credits are the same as in the U.S. Most elective courses are 3 credits, and 4 credits if they include a lab portion (usually a weekend field trip). The month-long Spanish intensive courses are typically 4 credits.

Grades:  
Grading scale is the same as in the U.S.

 

Program Costs

Estimated Program Cost: $12,735*

*estimated total cost of participation, actual amount depends on type of housing accommodation selected, actual airfare purchase price, personal spending habits, and other factors

Estimated Total Program Cost$12,735
Estimated U-bill Charges$9,308
Estimated Out-of-Pocket Costs$3,427

 

Veritas Cost Estimate Fall 2024 (PDF)

Cost of Studying On Campus at UNI*

*per semester, estimated, will vary per person

Tuition & Fees$4,864
Room & Board$4,824
Books$400
Personal Expenses$887
Transportation$350
Total$11,325

Source: https://admissions.uni.edu/cost-aid

Pending Updates for UNI Fall 2024

‌Eligibility Requirements to Study Abroad

The Study Abroad Center reserves the right to determine participants' eligibility to study abroad. Students must have a completed study abroad application, including supportive recommendation form(s). Additionally, students must meet all of the following in order to be eligible to study abroad:

  • Have a cumulative 2.5 GPA or higher at the time of application and maintain this cumulative GPA prior to departure and throughout the study abroad process
  • If your cumulative GPA is lower than 2.5, submit the following to the Study Abroad Center (103 East Bartlett):
    • Letters of reference from two academic contacts (e.g. academic advisor and former or current professor) supporting your pursuit of study abroad. If you are attending a faculty-led study abroad program, one of the letters must be from a course leader. However, if the program has two course leaders, only one of the letters can be from one of the course leaders.
  • Must be over the age of 18 years old
  • Must meet the course prerequisites (participation in the program is dependent upon meeting these)
  • Must be in good standing with the university
  • UNI's partner institutions may require additional eligibility requirements to be met, these vary from institution to institution. Please consult with the Study Abroad Center staff to discuss these additional requirements, if applicable.
  • Applicants traveling to a region of a country or a country with an overall Travel Advisory Level 3 (Reconsider Travel) or 4 (Do Not Travel) will not be eligible.